John Dramani MahamaPresident of Ghana

The Golden Gateway to Africa Exports of cocoa, oil and gas are fueling Ghana’s impressive economic growth

Rich in natural and human resourc-es, Ghana is the undisputed jewel in West Africa’s crown, thanks

to a fast-growing, free market economy that has thrived for many years on the twin pillars of political and social stability.

Millions of dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) is flowing into the am-bitious country as the business-friendly government looks to diversify its tradi-tional agriculture-dominated economy into other sectors such as energy, ser-vices and tourism.

China is playing a leading role in the development of Ghana’s fledgling oil and gas industry with the China Devel-opment Bank spearheading the massive investment drive through loans worth US$3 billion that will fund ambitious new infrastructure projects. Such proj-ects include a massive natural gas plant, vast oil and gas pipelines, railway lines, modern ports, harbors and cargo load-ing facilities, highways, housing and information and communications tech-nology (ICT) networks.

The country of 25 million people boasts many attractions for foreign in-vestors, including quota-free access to the lucrative US and EU markets as well as more than 300 million consumers in the major Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Other key economic and commercial advantages include competitive labor costs, a strategic location in the heart of West Africa, excellent air and sea links to other countries, a successful priva-tization drive and the right to own 100 percent of all local investments.

Following the tragic death of Presi-dent John Atta Mills in July this year, President John Dramani Mahama was appointed leader and is among the can-didates standing in the general election on December 7, 2012.

“The commitment to invest in people, build a strong economy, develop infra-structure and ensure transparency and accountability in governance were the building blocks of the ‘Better Ghana Agenda,’ and we remain steadfast in pursuing that commitment,” President Mahama says. “We have managed to stabilize the currency and bring down inflation and interest rates. It is in two sectors — oil and gas plus mining — where we are seeing strong investments coming but Ghana is not abandoning the traditional sectors and we are seeing strong participation in the agricultural

sector, especially cocoa.”Ghana has consolidated some econom-

ic fundamentals and is at the threshold of middle-income country status.

“This phase has largely been led by government but the next phase of trans-formation must be led by the private sector,” President Mahama explains. “We succeeded in obtaining the US$3 billion facility from China which is helping us rebuild railroad infrastructure in the western region and construct new infra-structure for oil and gas. By accelerating GDP growth and nurturing expansion of our small- and medium-sized enter-prises, we expect the economy to throw up hundreds of thousands of sustain-able jobs over the next few years.”

The world’s second largest producer and exporter of cocoa behind neighbor-

ing Ivory Coast, Ghana’s annual cocoa bean production is expected to total 850,000 tons this year despite unfavor-able growing conditions.

Cocoa tempts ChineseCocoa remains the backbone of the

country’s booming economy and the de-licious commodity is shipped to many countries around the world, including to the US, China and nations in Europe and Latin America.

Established in 1947, the Ghana Cocoa

Board (COCOBOD) facilitates the pro-duction, processing and marketing of quality cocoa, coffee and sheanut in the most efficient and cost effective manner, and maintain the best mutual industrial relation with its objectives.

During a special ceremony in the country’s bustling capital, Accra, in Sep-tember 2012, the state-run institution signed a US$1.5 billion pre-export trade finance agreement for the purchase of

cocoa for the 2012/2013 season.Ghana’s delighted Finance Minister,

Kwabena Duffuor, says: “I wish to express my profound gratitude to our financiers, both local and foreign, for the confidence shown in the Ghanaian economy in gen-eral and the cocoa industry in particular. I also want to assure the international community of government’s commit-ment to ensure a stable and friendly environment for business.”

COCOBOD’s activities center on the production, research, extension, internal

and external marketing and quality con-trol of locally-produced cocoa, with the functions divided into two main sectors: Pre- and Post-harvest.

COCOBOD CEO, Tony Fofie, adds that with the full support of the government his institution is working hard to mod-ernize and expand the cocoa industry as demand grows strongly.

“China is one of our first priorities mainly in terms of market penetration. The very large population of China could purchase around 10 percent of our pro-duction. We need partners who will explore and open the markets in China for us to export our beans. We also need to educate the Chinese population on their cocoa consumption for them to enjoy it as much as they enjoy tea.”

At the forefront of government efforts to achieve export-led growth is Trade and Industry Minister Hannah Tetteh, an experienced individual committed to improving the competitiveness of local industries and the country as business destination.

“My vision is to establish Ghana as a major manufacturing, value-added, financial and commercial hub in West Africa by 2015 and ensure effective trade and industrial development for national evolvement that will lead to the diversi-fication and structural transformation of the economy,” Minister Tetteh says.

Ghana’s great tropical climate has helped develop strong agricultural and tourism sectors.

We succeeded in obtaining the US$3 billion facility from China which is helping us rebuild

railroad infrastructure in the western region and construct new infrastructure for oil and gas.”

President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama

‘ ‘

Cocoa House, 41 Kwame Nkrumah Avenue,

P.O. Box 933, Accra.

Tel: +233 302 661 752 | Fax: +233 302 667 184

The best cocoa for making chocolate comes from Ghana. The Ghana Cocoa Board sustainably produces and exports this satisfying

high-quality commodity that is not only delicious but also offers health benefits. All grown with the environment in mind.

P R E M I U M Q U A L I T Y C O C O A

www.cocobod.gh

Sunday 2 December 2012 Shanghai DailyB14 GHANA

Shanghai Daily Sunday 2 December 2012 GHANA B15

Connecting Continents With the valuable financial support of China, Ghana is investing vast sums in major new infrastructure projects

Ghana and China first established diplomatic relations 52 years ago and over the past five decades

impressive progress has been made in many fields of bilateral cooperation, particularly under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Through FOCAC, thousands of Ghana-ian students have benefited from Chinese government grants, scholarships, train-ing courses and seminars, with all these valuable learning experiences and ex-change programs supporting Ghana’s human resources development.

On the infrastructure front, Chinese funding, machinery, technology and knowledge have helped Ghana build new landmarks like the national theater, dams, hospitals, schools and highways.

In November, Ghana and China Rail-way Engineering Design Institute Co Ltd signed a deal to fund the construction of the National Disaster Management Organization’s office complex plus its regional and district secretariats.

An experienced journalist famous among his peers and Ghanaians for his smile and sense of humor, Information Minister Fritz Baffour is also serious minded and well aware of the challenges facing his country as the nation strives to achieve its many socioeconomic goals.

The father-of-four is renowned for his management acumen and leadership

skills that have won him many awards and prompted several corporate bodies in Ghana and other countries to ask him to serve on their boards or governing councils.

Meanwhile, Fifi Kwetey, Deputy Minis-ter of Finance and Economic Planning, reaffirms that Ghana is determined to make the most of its strong trade and political ties with China as it looks to

reduce its dependence on one or two ex-port commodities.

“One area where we believe we can face tremendous transformation is in the area of financial services. This country could be very well positioned in the regional area and in the continent to become a financial services hub,” he says.

“With regards to cocoa, we want to change our business model and are now

more looking into processing cocoa prac-tices, bringing added value to the chain, investing in R&D in cocoa processing to reach the finished product in order to compete more favorably in the interna-tional arena.”

Deputy Minister Kwetey sees China playing a key role in Ghana’s future: “China continues to be a huge inspiration for us. China has been able to accomplish this transformation for itself within a space of two to three decades and showed the world it was feasible.

“The US$3 billion facility from China Development Bank is largely going into transformation of infrastructure and the building of gas infrastructure. Other areas that will most benefit from this Chinese facility are the ports and rail-ways. For us, this journey with China is a journey we expect to travel a long way ahead. We are not just waiting to get the financial resources, more than that we want to constantly learn and leverage the Chinese experience to our knowledge,” he concludes.

President Mahama echoes that positive view, adding that such huge investment would help entice FDI from elsewhere. “Investors from all over the world are converging towards Ghana,” he says. “International companies are choosing Ghana to set up their bases for West Africa. Ghana is a gateway to the whole region and we are open for business.”

F. Fritz BaffourMinister of Information

Fifi KweteyDeputy Minister of Finance

and Economic Planning

China continues to be a huge inspiration for us.Fifi Kwetey

Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning‘

‘

Ghana continues to attract increasing investment flows, even during an election year, thanks to the sterling work undertaken by the Ghana Investment Promotion Cen-ter (GIPC), and growing confidence in the economy of Ghana from the international business community.

The GIPC is a one-stop agency that facili-tates and supports local and foreign investors in the manufacturing and services sectors as they seek more value-creating operations, higher sustainable returns and new business opportunities. It is proud to be on track in achieving its targets for 2012.

During the first half of 2012, the GIPC recorded a total of 203 newly registered proj-ects with an estimated value of US$3,059.40 million. The FDI component amounted to US$2,520.52 million, representing a signifi-cant increase of more than 170% compared to the recorded value in the corresponding pe-riod in 2011. The local currency component amounted to US$538.88 million for the first half of the year. A total number of 10,316 jobs are expected to be created by these registered projects, 9,114 of which will be for Ghanaians and the remaining 1,202 for expatriates.

The GIPC is continually engaging with with local investors through its outreach pro-grams and other investment fora to encourage them to enjoy the available incentives. A total of 40 wholly Ghanaian projects were regis-tered during the first half of 2012, with an estimated value of US$277.59 million.

As the above table shows, there were no registered projects in the Agriculture, Export Trade and Liaison sectors.

Since the 1960s, Ghana and China have en-joyed mutually beneficial economic relations in the areas of trade, investment and develop-ment. China is among the top leading trading partners of Ghana and is also among the top ten sources of foreign direct investment in Ghana. This synergy could be enhanced if Chinese and Ghanaian businesses were able to form more joint venture collaborations in the areas of manufacturing, construction and services to facilitate the transfer of knowl-edge to Ghanaians, and a deepening of the existing economic ties.

As George Aboagye, CEO of the GIPC explains: “Ghana’s priority sectors of

investment now include Oil and Gas, In-frastructure, Agriculture , Manufacturing, Services and Property Development

“The Ghanian government is aggressively promoting these sectors as priority invest-ments areas for Chinese investors. As such, it has also instituted generous investment in-centives, including tax holidays, tax rebates, automatic quotas for expatriate employees and capital allowances on machinery among others. The foremost Government objective in the short to medium term is the develop-ment of Ghana’s infrastructure for accelerated growth and job creation for Ghanaians.”

Clearly, there has never been a better time

to invest in Ghana than now. Ghana began commercial production of oil in December 2010, which led to massive inflows of foreign investment into the country.

The government has already put in place the necessary legal and regulatory framework to support businesses and is further com-mitted to improving the investment climate. Significantly, it continues to build a diverse and sustainable economy, with the revenues for oil contributing to the country’s overall development. Ghana’s sophisticated ICT and energy networks also combine to make it a beacon for the region, and an extremely viable prospect for investors.

A model investment hub Aggressive promotion and sophisticated governance keep this African country in the premier league for investors.

George Aboagye, CEOGhana Investment Promotion Centre

Ghana Investment Promotion CentreP. O. Box M193, Ministries, Accra Ghana | www.gipcghana.com

Sectoral distribution of China-only registered projects by GIPC from January to end of June 2012

SECTOR NO. OF PROJECTS TOTAL ESTIMATED COST US$

AGRICULTURE 0 -

BUILDING/CONST 2 1,576,999.99

EXPORT TRADE 1 300,000.00

GENERAL TRADE 11 16,279,084.19

LIAISON 0 -

MANUFACTURING 5 978,038.31

SERVICE 7 4,704,093.33

TOURISM 4 381,000.00

TOTAL 30 24,219,215.82

Investment flows in water and energy

Ghana is rapidly developing its power generation potential with the help of foreign investors

Blessed with abundant natural re-sources such as fertile soils, great climate and the majestic Volta

River, Ghana intends to become a net exporter of energy to neighbors that lack its advanced infrastructure and technical expertise and knowledge.

Nearly two thirds of Ghana’s grow-ing energy requirements are generated from hydro resources provided by the huge Volta Rover that has three main tributaries — the Black Volta, White Volta and Red Volt — and drains into the Gulf of Guinea.

The largest reservoir in the world, Lake Volta provides precious water re-sources for millions of people living in the wider region.

“Ghana is positioning itself to be a net exporter of power as we are surround-ed by landlocked countries that don’t have sufficient power,” Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Power, Inusah Fuseini says. “We want to make the right commercial strategy for those countries to purchase power from us, within the frame of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), to pool our resources together for our mutual and collective benefit.”

Cabinet colleague Enoch Mensah, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, adds: “We can pursue our tar-gets of having treated disposable water for residential and commercial use — we just need the funding. We are in need of

great sources of funding to build new, and restore old, water treatment plants. China has played very significant role in this sector.”

With the vision to perform as a world class utility company delivering qual-ity and acceptable services based on its distinctive competence and best prac-tices in the water industry, Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) is spearhead-ing the development of the country’s water resources.

GWCL is overseeing huge local and foreign investment in water-related projects such as the building of new

treatment plants and pipelines and the rehabilitation and expansion of existing water supply networks and activities.

“The challenges we face are basically one and the same: matching supply and demand in water use and consumption, both for residential and business use,” says GWCL Managing Director, Kweku Botwe, adding that alliances with pri-vate sector firms are aiding the sector’s development.

“The investment scenario is extreme-ly favorable in Ghana and in the water sector more emphasis is needed for the development of our economy and for

better and more beneficial partnerships with foreign investors.”

Established in 1961, The Volta River Authority (VRA) generates and supplies electricity for industrial, commercial and domestic use in Ghana and seeks to raise the living standards of people in Ghana and West Africa.

The VRA is behind several major current power generation projects that include wind, solar and thermal en-ergy developments and wants to team up with foreign investors to maximize Ghana’s vast energy potential.

“We have been producing power and developing the lives of people living in lake communities, and improving tourism and transport for more than 50 years,” says VRA CEO, Kweku Awotwi. “Growing at 10 percnet per year means we need to build more power plants — that costs at least US$200 million to build — to meet that demand.

“If the government can provide the right fiscal regime, they can bring private sector players in, so VRA will be one of many companies providing electricity, and no longer the only one, like today.”

Hannah TettehMinister of Trade and Industry

Enoch MensahMinister of Water Resources,

Works and Housing

I N V E S T I N WAT E R P R O D U C T I O N F O R H I G H E R R E T U R N S

www.gwcl.com.gh

VISION

To be a world-class utility company deliver-

ing quality and acceptable services based

on our distinctive competence and best

practices in the water industry.

MISSION

We are committed to meeting the increasing

demand for better service delivery through

efficient management of our core business

of production and distribution of potable

water and customer management in urban

areas of Ghana.

CORE VALUES

• Quality and excellent customer service

• Commitment to speed and urgency in our

service delivery

• High level of integrity and honesty

• Continuous improvement and innovation

• Health care and safety of stakeholders

• High ethical and professional standards

• Community and environmental care

INVESTMENT REQUIREMENT

GWCL requires capital funding of about US$

2 billion to undertake major rehabilitation

and expansion works to meet the country’s

growing urban water requirements. Gov-

ernment is therefore operating a favour-

able regime to attract private financing and

investment.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

• Implementation of turn-key water

supply projects

• Establishment of subsidiary companies

to operate drilling units, workshops, stores

and a training school

• Establishment of water treatment

chemical plants

• Establishment of water bottling plant

• Public private partnerships in water supply

• Management of water supply operations

and maintenance

GHANA WATER COMPANY LIMITED

Head Office: 28th February Road (Near Independence Square), Post Office Box M. 194, Accra, Ghana

Tel: +233 (0)302 - 666781 · +233 (0)302 - 662032 · Fax: +233 (0)302 - 663552 · E-mail: info@gwcl.com.gh

GHANA WATER COMPANY LIMITED

Sunday 2 December 2012 Shanghai DailyB16 GHANA

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